Ardeshir Tarapore
|branch= |serviceyears= |rank=Lt. Colonel |commands= |unit=POONA HORSE (17 HORSE) (IC 5565) |battles=1965 Indo Pak War |awards=Param Vir Chakra }} Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore was born on August 18, 1923 in Mumbai.Param Vir Chakra Winners, Official website of the Indian Army, indianarmy.gov.in He belongs to the family of General Ratanjiba who led the army of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who was awarded 100 villages of which Tarapore was main village. The name Tarapore comes for the same reason. Later his grandfather relocated to Hyderabad and started working under the excise department of Nizam of Hyderabad. After his death Burzonji took up his father's job and was comparatively successful due to his hardwork. From the young tender age Ardeshir's showed his courage when he saved his sister, Yadgar, from a family cow that had broken loose. By the time he was seven years old he was sent to the Sardar Dastur Boys' Boarding School, Pune. He completed his matriculation in the year 1940. After school he applied for the army and was selected. he did his initial training in the Officers' Training School at Golconda and on completion was sent to Bangalore. He saw himself commissioned in the 7th Hyderabad Infantry as a Second Lieutenant. Hyderabad State Force He was popularly known as "Adi". Adi was not very happy joining the infantry, instead he wanted to join an armoured regiment. On one fine day his battalion was inspected by Major General El Edroos, the Commander-in-Chief of the state forces. At the grenade throwing range due to an accident a grenade fell into the bay area. Adi was quick to jump and throw it. However the grenade exploded in the middle which left him injured as the flying shapnel hit his chest. Major General Edroos, was a witness to this event which kept him spellbound. He was impressed by the exemplary courage displayed by Ardeshir. Major General Edroos summoned Ardeshir to his office and congratulated him for his efforts. Ardeshir took this as an opportunity and requested that he be transferred to an armoured regiment. The General accepted this and he was transferred to the 1st Hyderabad Imperial Service Lancers. Interestingly, 1st Hyderabad Lancer fought with The Poona Horse in Operation Polo. He also saw active service in West Asia during World War-II during this part of his career. Indian Army Later Hyderabad was merged with Union of India. This eventually amalgamated the Indian Army. Ardeshir was shifted to The Poona Horse and was commissioned in Poona Horse on 1 April 1951. He rose to become Commanding Officer (CO) and commanded his very own regiment in the Poona Horse in the 1965 war against Pakistan and while leading his regiment in securing a major objective in Pakistan, Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore went down fighting on board his Centurion tank in the highest tradition of the army and recognised as the bravest of the brave to be awarded Param Vir Chakra for his action in the battle. Military action On 11 September 1965, the 17 Horse regiment launched attack on Phillora in the Sialkot sector at the Battle of Chawinda. The southern thrust of the attack, commanded by Lt. Col. Tarapore advanced on the right flank. Between Phillora and Chawinda, the attack met with the Pakistani Army's heavy armour charge from Wazirwali. Lt. Col. Tarapore held his ground and gallantly attacked Phillora under continuous enemy tank and artillery fire. When wounded, he refused to be evacuated. He led his regiment to capture Wazirwali on 14 September, and Jassoran and Butur-Dograndi on 16 September 1965. Though his own tank was hit several times, he maintained his pivots at both these places and thereby helped the supporting infantry attacking Chawinda. Inspired by his leadership, the regiment fiercely attacked the enemy armor and destroyed approximately sixty Pakistani Army tanks, suffering only nine tank casualties. However, Lt. Colonel Tarapore's tank was hit and was enveloped in flames and he died a hero's death. Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore was awarded with the highest war-time gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra, posthumously. The citation reads See also *Arun Khetarpal *Param Vir Chakra *The Poona Horse External links * Indian Army Webpage Citations Category:Indian military personnel killed in action Category:Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Category:Parsi people Category:1923 births Category:1965 deaths